


summer shower.

by cloudcore



Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Rain, Umbrellas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:33:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29509065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloudcore/pseuds/cloudcore
Summary: ‘A drop fell on the apple tree,Another on the roof;A half dozen kissed the eaves,And made the gables laugh.’
Relationships: Aoba Moca & Hazawa Tsugumi & Mitake Ran & Udagawa Tomoe & Uehara Himari, Ichigaya Arisa/Mitake Ran
Kudos: 13





	summer shower.

**Author's Note:**

> Description and title comes from Emily Dickinson's poem of the same name; a brief mention of zombies (fictional) towards the end.

It was a bad day. A bad day made worse by the stickiness in the air; the fact that everything was going wrong.

“It looks like it’s going to rain,” Tsugumi commented as she, and the rest of Afterglow, entered onto a secluded part of the school’s rooftop—where they always sat during lunch.

“Thas’ what the news said,” Tomoe responded, “‘spose those clouds are enough of a hint, though.” Above, the sky was splotchy and dark, as if it was a mere few seconds away from bursting.

“Hopefully it gets rid of some of this mugginess, I can’t stand it,” Himari whined as she sat back against the wall holding the entrance to the roof, knees to her chest and books practically spilling out of her hot pink tote. Tomoe and Tsugumi join her while Ran and Moca remained standing. Ran walked over to the rooftop’s railing, and Moca followed. Ran’s bad mood was practically radiating off of her, and while Tsugumi, Tomoe and Himari were happy to give Ran her space—as it always managed to cool her hot head—Moca was one to actively inquire about what was wrong. Seeking Ran out, even when she really didn’t feel like talking.

“What’s up, Miss Mitake?” Moca asked; Ran stood stiffly in front of the railing, not touching it, while Moca crossed their arms over the bar and leant into it. There was a heaviness to the air: hot, hard and heavy. It was hot like nights spent cramped in a crowd at an underground rock show, hard like an ikebana base and heavy like holding her guitar.

“... Nothing.”

Moca frowned: “tell that to the gloomy cloud ‘round your shoulders.”

“It's a bad day. That’s all.” That morning, Ran had found her bike missing from its usual place chained up out front. Meaning that she had forgotten to lock it up last night; meaning that someone had taken it in the night; meaning that she had to walk to school and tell her dad she needed a new bike when she got home. There was a moth in her shoe locker when she got to school, and then when she went to buy a flavoured-milk box before class she found the vending machine that dispensed them broken, and the only other vending machine that sold milk boxes only sold the plain kind. She had forgotten her math book, got called upon to answer a question she didn’t know the answer to during English and the student she got partnered with for an activity during literature was one she just couldn’t stand.

“Okay, okay! Thanks for telling me.” Moca pushed off from the rail, “then I’ll leave you to your space—but Moca’s ears are always open if you want to complain.”

Ran watched them go with the barest hint of a smile. A smile that vanished when, as soon as Ran had finally sat down with her friends and gotten out her lunch, she felt the initial splatter of rain against her head. The rain came on fast, a few drops turned into thousands in a few seconds, and the five were drenched by the time they managed to hastily gather their stuff and run inside.

They arrived at their classroom dripping; Ran grumpily stomped over to her desk and took off her vest, practically throwing the wet garment onto her chair. The other members of Afterglow followed behind her, albeit far less mad. Himari moaned as she observed her ruined—but not really ruined—makeup in her pocket mirror, Tsugumi fretted over the books she had had with her and Tomoe and Moca mourned over the sogginess now afflicting their food; however, they all found the whole situation rather amusing at the same time.

“Well,” Tsugumi sighed, her now-wet cropped fringe stuck to her forehead, “at least the air won’t feel so bad anymore!”

•••

A few other students in her class had got caught in the rain, and Ran watched them—as well as Moca, Tomoe, Himari and Tsugumi—stand in front of the heaters at the back of the classroom, drying their clothes.

Ran rolled her eyes—she would rather soak than make a fool out of herself. At least, that was what her foul mood was telling her.

The sight of the few dry classmates made her jealous, and the sight of the wet ones made her scowl. The whole classroom was making her mood worse and worse, so she packed up her things and the moment her teacher for the next period came in, she asked to go to the bathroom. The teacher let her, and didn’t bat an eye at the fact that Ran was taking her satchel with her—probably out of pity.

Despite it being an excuse, Ran did spend a few minutes in the bathroom. Ran patted down her wet shirt and skirt with a wad of paper towels before running her fingers through her matted wet hair, trying to make it presentable once more. Her reflection looked just as gloomy as she felt: eyes hard, mouth turned down and forehead creased—but Ran chose to ignore it.

When she had dried off the best she could she left the bathroom, tying her vest—which she had given up on trying to dry—around her shoulders. It looked a little ridiculous, the tan fabric of the shoulders practically choking her, but Ran didn’t want to make the content of her satchel wet by stuffing it in there.

No one stopped her as she made her way through the high school building, and no one was around to condemn her when she ‘borrowed’ another student’s umbrella from the racks out front—she did plan on putting it back tomorrow.

Looking like a knock-off superhero with her cape-vest and obnoxiously yellow umbrella, Ran left the school grounds hours early.

•••

Ran remembered finding rain so fascinated as a child, she loved nothing more than to run outside in her rain boots and coat in the aftermath of a storm and play around in the puddles—sometimes, if he was in a good mood, her father would let her go out when the rain was still failing. It had been the best feeling; even when water splashed up into her boots or she slipped over and coated her hands and face in mud.

Now, it was more of an annoyance than anything. It was refreshing, yes: a force of nature that washed away the heat and soaked the soil, allowing plants to drink. But it was a nuisance at the same time.

Water easily soaked through the old sneakers she always wore when riding her bike to school—though she had walked in them this morning—and her arm was starting to tire of holding up the umbrella.

Ran stopped at the next bus shelter she came across to get out of the rain and give her arm the chance to rest; when the next bus pulled up, Ran made sure it was heading to the downtown area before stepping on. Ran couldn't go home, there was a chance that her father would be there, and she didn’t want to risk the scolding—or the possibility of being sent back—and so she decided heading downtown was the next best thing.

The bus driver looked disapprovingly at her upon noticing her uniform but didn’t stop her from swiping her card and taking a seat in the middle of the bus. There were few other passengers—a middle-aged couple, a young woman with a stroller, a businessman—and Ran was glad that it was going to be a quiet ride.

When her stop was announced to be next, the young woman who was sitting near Ran pushed the stop button and prepared herself to get off. In her bustle, she turned back and noticed the still-damp Ran. Wordlessly, she took out a hand towel from her bag and handed it to Ran—Ran didn’t even have the time to thank her before she got off. Ran used the towel to dry herself off, and practically jumped when she heard the downtown stop being called; it wasn’t a particularly long bus ride from Haneoka Girls’ Academy to the area.

The businessman got off with her: both opened up their umbrellas under the bus stop, his a deep navy blue, and he went left as she went right. Ran considered going to Sāya’s bakery—she had the money to buy bread as compensation to her friends for ditching—but thought better of it as she knew both of Sāya’s parents would recognise her. And while they didn’t seem like the type to scold, especially if Ran explained herself, she knew that whatever they did say would guilt her enough into going back to school.

Instead, she ventured into any shop along the way that looked even the slightest bit interesting: they allowed her cover from the rain, and the opportunity to look at things that she liked. First was a record store with dim yellow lighting that smelled like dust and honey, next a knick-knack shop filled with small and delicate items from across the globe. After a few more shops, Ran was starting to feel bored and so she made her final stop at a second-hand bookshop that sat on the north-east edge of the downtown area.

Ran skipped past the non-fiction section and kept walking through the shop until she found the manga. She flipped through a few of the volumes, nothing jumped out at her until she came across the first volume of an old series that Moca and Himari absolutely loved. Ran had never read it before, despite their recommendations, and decided that now was the time to try it.

And if she didn’t like it, she could show them the volume tomorrow to distract them from her skipping, at least.

After purchasing the book with the spare change she had on her—at least she had enough, that would’ve added to her list of bad things today if she hadn’t— she left the store and was somewhat happy to find that the rain had eased up a little. Yes, it still went strong—dancing happily on the path and still darkening the sky—but it had eased enough that Ran was able to feel content in the knowledge that her dry uniform wouldn’t get wet again, and that her still slightly damp shoes wouldn’t get any worse.

Looking at her phone, Ran decided that she had at least an hour before it was acceptable for her to be home—as well as the time, she saw countless messages from Himari’s number. But she decided to leave those for later. Ran took one of the many paths leading out of the downtown area and followed it until she reached a sign that pointed her in the direction of the river.

Ran walked along the path that trailed the river's edge: she kicked up her feet as she walked, and noticed that the river was looking rather full, due to all the rain. Ran wouldn’t be surprised if it overflowed a little, just enough to coat the neighbouring sidewalks. Ran crossed the bridge she usually would when going to CiRCLE from her school or the music shop, and immediately paused when she made it to the other side.

Leading off the bridge there was a junction: one path led in the direction of CiRCLE, and the other the suburbs. Currently, in the middle of the junction, stood Arisa Ichigaya. A drenched, dripping Arisa Ichigaya.

Ran made a startled noise at the back of her throat, and Arisa looked up upon hearing it. They both breathed out a silent ‘oh’ before Ran rushed over to cover Arisa with her umbrella, and Arisa’s neck flushed pink with embarrassment.

“Why are you so wet?” Ran asked at the same time Arisa asked: “shouldn’t you be in school?”

Both questions left the girls silent.

“... I left early—but shouldn’t you be, too?”

“Grandma has been overrun with deliveries, so I took the day off to help her out. I just finished my last one.” Arisa ran an absent hand through her soaked her: she was wearing it out today, no clips or anything, and Ran thought that past its wetness and the way that it clung desperately to her face and neck… it looked rather pretty.

“Is that why you’re wet, then? You forgot an umbrella?” Ran asked, a little hypocritically—the handle of the ‘borrowed’ umbrella burnt in her hand.

“No, I did have one on me. I left just as it began to rain, and I ran into some kids who had been stranded on the local playground. So, I… I…” Arisa’s flush spread to her ears as she trailed off. “Nevermind! Let’s just—can we just—”

“Do you want me to take you home?” Ran asked, looking down at Arisa. A slight smirk tugged at her mouth, and Arisa glared at it with intensity: despite this, she accepted, and began holding onto the umbrella right above the handle.

Right above Ran’s hand.

The umbrella was small, obviously made for one, so it was a tight fit beneath it. They spent the few first minutes of their walk readjusting—“ah, my shoulders still out!” “ok, but this hurts my arm”—but soon we’re able to find a position beneath the umbrella that fit them both in soundly, no one's limbs hurting or exposed to the rain. Arisa walked slightly in front, her back against Ran's chest and hand still above the umbrella’s handle; despite the rain, Ran felt herself starting to get warm, and she had never been so glad to walk behind someone.

At one point, Arisa scooted down her hand on the umbrella. She did it only slightly, but it was enough to let her pinkie overlap with Ran’s thumb. Ran felt blood thundering in her ears, and she saw the back of Arisa’s neck and ears turn a deep shade of red, too.

The walk to Arisa’s home was luckily fairly quick, though it did hold a lot of hills. Ran hurried them a long, wanting to get Arisa home and dry as soon as possible—by the way Arisa’s body would violently shake every few minutes, Ran knew she needed it.

In the rain, Arisa’s traditional house looked like something out of an old Japanese novel. Rain soaked the light wood dark, the lanterns hung around the entrance let off a faint glow and every sliding door was shut tight in an effort to keep out the rain. Arisa’s grandmother met them as they were taking off their shoes, and while she was happy to see that Arisa had finished with her deliveries, her face soured as soon as she saw how soaked her granddaughter had become. Without a word, she whisked Arisa away and off for, what Ran hoped, was a warm bath.

Ran stood in the entryway awkwardly, she hadn’t been invited in, so she felt awkward just entering the house—it didn’t help that she had never been to Arisa’s before, so she wouldn’t have known where to go even if she had been invited in. Ran decided the best thing she could do was stand silently, not making a sound until someone came for her. She looked around the area: the tiles of the entryway were dark, and the walls of the traditional house were white. Above the front door were two pictures.

One was of a young Arisa: her front teeth were missing, and her short blonde-brown hair was cut short around her ears. She wore a yellow dress, and in her arms was a golden trophy that seemed half the size of her—Ran couldn’t tell what the trophy was for, but an odd sense of pride bubbled in her chest. The second photo was from a young couples wedding day: they stood under a marble arch, and the bride seemed to have a baby bump. They were Arisa’s parents, no doubt about it—her father shared her smile, and the mole in the centre of her right cheek, and her mother shared her eyes, big and brown. Ran didn’t know what had happened to Arisa’s patently exactly, but through the grapevine of Hagumi and Kasumi she knew they had died shortly after Arisa was born.

Ran didn't quite know how to feel about Arisa’s past: sure, Ran didn’t quite like her dad, but she couldn’t imagine a world that he wasn’t living in.

Eventually, Arisa’s grandfather found her. He smiled at her, eyes crinkling, and Ran couldn't not obey when he gestured for her to enter.

“I hear you are the one that walked our Arisa home, I thank you.”

“O-oh… it’s no problem.”

Arisa’s grandfather smiled, “you seem like a nice girl—you must have been caught in the rain, too, huh? You were just smart enough to bring an umbrella.” Ran laughed awkwardly. “While you look dry now, it’s best to get out of clothes that have been wet—come on, while you won’t fit into any of Arisa’s things, I’m sure I can find something for you.”

•••

Ran felt extremely awkward. She sat on Arisa’s bed, wearing a green shirt and a pair of sweatpants that had both belonged to her father when he was a teenager—Arisa’s grandfather had managed to find them in the back of an unused closet. They smelled a little musty, and Ran felt more than weird wearing them, but she couldn’t complain. Or turn down Arisa’s grandfather’s kindness.

Across the room, Arisa stood in front of her desk with a small white towel around her shoulders, catching the water from the still-wet ends of her hair. She wore a shapeless grey jumper with a yellow-long sleeved dress underneath—other than the skirt, Ran could see the collar from above the jumper’s neckline and the hint of yellow sleeves that were barely longer than those of the jumper.

Both girls were silent, not sure what to say. They texted quite often, and saw each other at CiRCLE and other band-related events—such as Roselia’s live shows, as Afterglow always attended and Kasumi always brought the rest of her band along to watch. However, they had never gone over to each other's houses before, or spent time together individually. There was always a third party, like Lisa or Himari or, just, someone.

Arisa shuffled her pens around in their pot; Ran watched a stray droplet of water slide down the back of Arisa’s neck.

Arisa turned, and noticed Ran’s intense stare: “hm?” Ran’s ears burnt and she looked away fast, studying Arisa’s door frame as if her life depended on it. Arisa stopped playing with her stationary and joined Ran on her bed, sitting next to her pillows whereas Ran sat on the very end. “You look like someone from one of Rimi’s manga’s, like the dumb one.”

“...What?”

“You know, if it were a zombie apocalypse, you look like the character who would—” Arisa stopped talking upon looking at Ran’s vacant face, and instead grabbed one of her pillows and held it to her chest, looking down into her lap. “It’s the shirt. It’s so bright, and it looks silly.”

“Oh, I see.” Ran nodded, “it does look silly, but there’s nothing else I can wear.”

Arisa looked up: “ah! I didn’t—I didn’t mean that you looked silly. It’s just that the shirt…” Arisa’s face was getting redder and redder as she spoke.

Ran laughed. “It’s okay, I knew what you meant.”

“Oh…” Arisa hushed and began calming herself down. Ran knew that Arisa had been getting better—better at conversation, better at not getting so flustered—but she supposed something about her was making Arisa irrationally nervous. That was okay. Arisa made Ran irrationally nervous, too.

Arisa’s grandmother brought in tea and biscuits, and Arisa and Ran moved from the bed to the floor to eat them from the low table Arisa had in her bedroom. The biscuits were thin, with a layer of chocolate on top, and Ran bit into them greedily.

“These are Kasumi’s favourite,” Arisa said, looking at Ran’s biscuit. Arisa had her hands firmly wrapped around her tea mug, warming her hands before taking a sip. Ran decided to follow suit and cursed as the scalding liquid hit her tongue. It made Arisa laugh, soft and jumpy.

“How can you drink that?!” Ran gaped as Arisa swallowed down a big gulp.

Arisa shrugged, “I’m used to it.” She paused, running her finger around the rim of her mug. “Or maybe you're just a baby when it comes to heat.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ran grumbled, all the while deciding to play it safe by sticking to the biscuits. Arisa laughed again, this time into her tea.

Ran liked Arisa’s laugh: it was quiet but full of life. Full at the crescendo, with a breath between each giggle. It was kind of like how a baby would laugh, and Ran found that fact oddly sweet.

This time when Arisa caught her staring—with an added smile on Ran’s face—she didn’t shy away from it. Instead, she smiled right back, it just as small and sweet as Ran’s.

“Ran, you’re actually really nice.” Ran was taken aback a little by Arisa’s comment. “Every time I think about talking to you, or I see that you’ve texted me, I get nervous. But you’re nice each time. You send me photos of your arrangements, and your awkward jokes always make me feel better about feeling awkward, too.”

“Oh… thanks,” Ran quietly accepted the complement, not sure what to say next. “I get nervous around you, too.”

Arisa nodded; “I see.” After taking another sip of her tea, Arisa put her mug to the side and cautiously placed a hand over the one Ran had fiddling with her mug’s handle. “Let’s make an effort. To stop feeling so nervous.” Arisa separated Ran’s hand from the mug and turned it over, so their palms were facing. “What do you think?”

“Ah—uh… yes,” Ran nodded, swallowing loudly. “Yes, let’s do that.” Arisa’s hand was warm from her bath, but her fingertips were still cold from being stuck in the rain—the icy points of contact made Ran shiver a little, and looking at the determination in Arisa’s eyes, her heart jumped a little, as did her stomach.

Arisa: quiet yet angry, bold yet shy…. With her jumpy laugh, unique interests and elegant appearance, Ran couldn’t help but feel nervous around Arisa—no matter how hard she tried not to be.

Every time Ran saw her, she felt her stomach clench and go warm: butterflies, Himari would say. But when did Ran know anything about romance?

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Happy late Valentine's <3
> 
> Find me at @mocasaya on twitter, or @sailorkanon on tumblr :) (I mainly use my tumblr for reblogs, but I plan posting work to there soon, too).


End file.
